TALES FROM THE FRONT

Misfire gets our Irish up

A Multichannel Merchant staffer recently received an unsolicited copy of Blue & Gold Traditions, a catalog of licensed merchandise from the University of Notre Dame. Only one problem: Not only did the staffer not attend Notre Dame, she doesn't even know anybody who did. But the staffer had purchased from an Irish-themed gifts catalog in the past year, and Blue & Gold must have rented that mailer's list. There probably is a fairly strong affinity between Irish-themed gifts buyers and Notre Dame fans, but not in this case. What's more, even though we understand how the direct marketing industry works, we were still slightly annoyed to receive a catalog we had no use for — imagine how irritated someone who didn't know how Blue & Gold got his name would feel.

Was free S&H a gift or gaffe?

Many merchants were promoting free shipping and handling early in the holiday season, so the fact that one Multichannel Merchant staffer received free S&H on a fall order is not that unusual. Except that the staffer doesn't know if the free S&H is a bonus or a mistake on the merchant's part. The staffer placed an order from the Website of 10 Crescent Lane — Home Depot's new upscale home goods title — in early November. The site indicated that the item was in stock and would ship immediately, and it detailed the order total with tax and S&H. About a week later the staffer received an e-mail saying that the order had shipped and provided the amount that her credit card would be charged — but the total did not include the S&H. The order arrived two days later, and the staffer's credit card was not charged the S&H. We're not sure what happened, but we have some advice for 10 Crescent Lane: If you did mean to waive the S&H for some reason — perhaps to make up for the slight shipping delay — thanks, but call attention to the fact next time. If you didn't, uh, sorry, but you might want to examine your systems.

CONTACT US…

E-mail: mdowling@primediabusiness.com
Phone: 203-358-9900 Fax: 203-358-5823
Letter: 11 River Bend Drive South, Stamford, CT 06907
or visit us on the Web at www.MultichannelMerchant.com